I like the flavor a lot! Zombies that sweat crystals. And extra points for not making it a simple virion or bacterium that does the dirty work. The biology backstory is pretty good, too. I don't like to imagine anything coming out of a deep-sea vent that isn't a horrible monster.

Are they like prions? Saying something is a crystal is sort of like saying that it is stackable in a grid, and nearly all proteins are can be forced into a crystalline pattern (that's how X-ray crystallography works). But at the same time, you can have really simple proteins direct massive behavioral changes (mad cow disease), so that works.

Also, it strikes me as sort of weird that crystals have an EMP profile when crystals are just lattices of ionically balanced molecules. No polarity. Go to Comment

I like it a lot. The only thing I find a little weak is the argument that: (1) Many great minds were condemned as insane, (2) everyone would be better off if they were insane. The conclusion doesn't follow from the premise. A better one might be: "Geniuses are better off insane." "If everyone was insane, people would see that it is not a detriment to research, and Dr. Wright and I would be able to complete our research." But I babble.

Casey looks like an excellent NPC, but he's also pretty campaign specific. If I were to adapt him, pretty much the only thing that would remain is the talking dog (which is *awesome*, by the way). I'd flesh him out a bit more with mannerisms and more about why he is nervous around authority (because he's supposed to be dead, I guess).

Having said that, Mr. Rogers is a nifty NPC that definitely accomplishes what he sets out to do. Go to Comment

I like the idea of a conductor instead of a boatman. It especially brings up the idea of how current the gods and psychopomps need to be to keep up with their worshippers. If the ancient Greeks kept their religion constant up into the cyberpunk timeline, would they still keep a few gold coins around because Charon doesn't take creds?

As far as a setting goes, it is lacking something. Geography, I think. Maybe a mound of all the passengers who were to dispirited to move more than 10' away from the train. After getting off, you first have to walk over a slow wall of these guys. Or the OCD guys in hell (does hell cure OCD?) who, despite not giving a darn, go and sit in even rows somewhere compulsively. Or they move the other immobile people into lines. Go to Comment

Extremely well thought out. Some of the effects seem a bit overexploitable for practical play (Can I cast AoE spells into a marketplace from a couple blocks over if I just have a map of it?). I imagine this as more of a reflavoring of existing mechanics--maybe conjuring a wall already requires you to draw a quick map.

And the Mountweazel is an absolutely awesome idea. I wish there was a way to trap a map so a thieving cartomancer would regret stealing my map. Maybe, when the stolen map is used, the Mountweazel hijacks the spell somehow, and instead of your rope bridge appearing, you get half a town of. . . bad stuff.

Any post that gets you thinking like this has got to be great. Go to Comment

89. Be a ranger with a crocodile who goes on long solo journeys (with his croc). Die in some out-of-the-way-place. The well-trained croc eats you and swims back home where your friends can notice that he is burping out all your jewelry and resurrect your undigested remains. Lassie would actually tire herself out trying to drag you back, but you'd actually give Ol' Greeny the calories he needs to make it.

90. Spellbook. Crocodiles have a lot of durable surface area. As a bonus, you'll look a lot more badass than the other wizards with their toads and whatnot.

Wow. This is pretty metal. Great flavoring, and well written. Just the same, I feel like I've seen the charismatic-death-cult-leader before. The hair is a unique touch, though, and one of my favorite things about this.

I'd like to see him more humanized. Favorite non-death-god books? Friends? Childhood? Go to Comment

She turned sideways three times and disappeared, lost like a line in the sand when the ride went out of the driveway, and the sand went out of the man like a sandbag goes under the water when the Katrina cleaned up a good place to leave and a good time for leaving, so she turned sideways three times and never feared. Go to Comment

What does he do with the eyes? I'm picturing an eye-ball studded monster that he keeps in a trashcan somewhere, close at hand, in case he ever has to unleash it at some overcurious snoops. Go to Comment

I like the sun. Everyone likes the sun. It'd be a pretty cool centerpiece for any campaign. Or dinner table.

I'm left wondering, though, at the nature of Unthar. He/It is a being of godlike power and sentience, but all of his ambitions? seem to resemble the motivations of a gerbil I used to have: escape my cage, run around for a bit, and then get caught and put back in.

I'm not bothered by it. Gods are supposed to be inscrutible, sometimes. But the sub leaves more room for development, which I am thankful for.

Maybe Unthar actually has the mind of a gerbil? Maybe he's friendly, naive, and just wants to hang out with his siblings? Or maybe he's plotting thier murder (I would like to see the suns fight in the sky, please)?

I like the origin story too. Players wouldn't care about all the thought you've put into this, but I can imagine an NPC wizard having a lot of fun lecturing the PCs about all their uses.

Odd physics question: Are they an information destruction paradox like black holes might be? If it sucks in all the light from a dim TV screen and emits a flat, monochromatic, invariant light, it seems like it would.